Saturday, January 31, 2009

Tomorrow is the Super Bowl, so I thought I'd open a really old pack of football cards, sort of as a prediction as to who will win the game. There's been a pack of 1991 Score Series I lying around my house for the better part of two years. I can't really bear to let is sit for another season, so today's the day.

The Rules:Since this will determine the winner outright, we have to lay some ground rules. 1. Any Cardinal or Steeler is worth 5 points to that team.2. Any card of a team the Cardinals or the Steelers beat during the regular season is worth 3 points to that team.3. Any card of a team the Cardinals or Steelers beat during the post-season is worth 4 points to that team.4. Any card of a team the Cardinals or Steelers lost to during the regular season costs that team a -2 penalty.

I'd say that these are pretty even odds. The Cardinals lost more games this year, but they played one more playoff game than Pittsburgh. Plus the Ravens didn't exist in 1991. Then again, the Panthers didn't either. (On a related note, I'm calling it that teams who moved but kept their name, such as the Rams, will count, but teams who changed their name, like the Oilers/Titans, will not.)

I'm surprised how well that turned out looking like an actual football score. I was worried for a second that the Cardinals were going to have to pull off two safeties in a losing effort. Have fun watching the game, everybody. And don't forget to bet on Pittsburgh to cover and go with the under. You can all thank me later."That pack was totally kick-ass! Reminded me of the time I saw Whitesnake at the Meadowlands in '89!"